AAR: Spoonfed

Subspace Network Reports
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1
Stardate:
99613
Filed By:
CDR Nathes
Clearance:

LOCATION Betreka Nebula

MISSION Defense of critical grain shipment through the Betreka Nebula.

OUTCOME Operational success. Despite hostile engagement, the grain shipment was successfully delivered.

KEY PERSONNEL

  • CAPT Tungsten
  • CAPT Mirazuni
  • CDR Nathes
  • GUL Rejal
  • CAPT Tungsten
  • CMDR Tolar
  • LCDR Zital
  • SCPO Ibrait

NARRATIVE The ships of the wing were tasked with escorting a critical grain shipment to struggling colonies within Cardassian space. Due to the expiration of the grain, as well as a highly dubious request made by Starfleet logistics, the task force was forced to follow a more direct flight vector. One that took the ships-of-the-wing close to the Betreka Nebula.

This flight vector proved hazardous. An engagement ensued with Cardassian rebels operating within the nebula. The forces were driven off after an intense ship-to-ship engagement, and the grain was successfully delivered to its final destination.

RECOMMENDATION Starfleet’s logistical services made it clear that the task force need to follow this vector. That decision, bluntly, nearly caused this operation to fail. While the RRF has little say in how Starfleet conducts itself, this officer recommends our allies conduct a thorough investigation into why this decision was made. Starfleet Logistics ought to face a formal inquiry in this matter. Their decision endangered the lives of the Cardassian, Federation, and Romulan vessels assigned in this operation.
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RECOGNITION CMDR Tolar deserves praise for the leadership demonstrated during this operation. In absense of the Mariner’s Commanding Officer, Commander Tolar was placed in the difficult position of leading this task force. She demonstrated professionalism, courage, and discipline in the face of many differing personalities.

This officer would also extend recognition to Gul Rejal. Despite the insufferable disposition often demonstrated by the Cardassian Military, this officer will concede that without her keen words, the operation like would have failed.

OOC Great event. Thank you for hosting, Serris. Looking forward to the next one.

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2
Stardate:
99616.2
Filed By:
GUL Rejal, Nalima
Clearance:

Central Command,

As you are aware, CUV Seskal has continued to work together with Federation and Republic forces on detached duty throughout the current terrorist crisis (and, as always, I’d like to take this moment to highlight that I was recognising them as and calling them ‘terrorists’ long before you were); this time, we aided in the delivery of a critical shipment of GE grain to a Cardassian colony in desperate need.

I would like it to be on-record that I supported this mission, in principle. The shipment was essential to the colony’s survival, and I think that the relationship between the Federation and the Union would have been (and likely still will be) bolstered by its success as a joint Cardo-Federation effort. My political views on this matter are a matter of record, as Central Command is aware.

Starfleet ‘Logistics’ (could someone in Central Intelligence please let me know if that particular department of Starfleet actually exists, by the way?) had planned the parameters of this mission, and apparently had supreme tactical authority over it. The mission entailed flying this crucial, life-saving shipment directly through the Betreka Nebula for the sake of time-saving. I questioned the tactical wisdom of this this during the initial briefing, and was told that it was absolutely necessary - the shipment would have expired were it to be taken on any kind of detour.

Despite the catastrophes that all previous expeditions into that nebula have proved to become - even to Starfleet’s own forces - I accepted our allies’ assertions as being honest, at that time.

And that was a mistake on my part.

As expected, and after at least one near-miss, our flotilla was detected before it escaped the nebula. It was only due to the foolhardiness of the terrorist forces, who navigated into some photon mines that we dropped at warp, and the uncharacteristic bravery of the Romulan ship that turned to engage the remnants of the patrol, that the shipment escaped.

Once we achieved safety, I learnt - unintentionally on Starfleet’s part - that the shipment would have, in fact, been perfectly viable had USS Mariner taken a detour around the nebula. Starfleet was focussed on using the mission to transport VIPs. Seskal’s computers have recorded this admission.

They did not care if the shipment reached its destination. They only cared about getting their VIPs where they needed to be.

The current situation is utterly untenable. Between the last catastrophe and this catastrophe, I’m starting to become convinced that Starfleet itself is deliberately sabotaging our efforts in this region. I trust that members of Central Command will appreciate the gravity of my statement there, given how often we have clashed over my own views about Federation integration over the years.

Seskal is returning to Cardassia Prime so that I might meet with Central Command in a controlled, in-person environment.

I no longer trust open communications.

//SIGNED//
Gul Rejal,
CUV Seskal

RECOMMENDATIONNo further joint operations between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union, unless Cardassian Military personnel are permitted to take an active, authoritative role in the initial planning stages.

RECOGNITION USS Dragon and her crew. I proposed to Captain Tungsten an unconventional strategy should our flotilla be discovered; it was never tested, but he was open to trying it.

Also, Commander Nathes and her ship’s crew. They destroyed a terrorist ship while fully-aware that they might not be able to retreat.

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3
Stardate:
99617.4
Filed By:
LT Mekyu, S.
Clearance:

ADDENDUM I, Siana Mekyu, report as the Acting Flight Control Officer aboard the USS Mariner during this mission. I state that as not part of the Mariner’s permanent or senior command staff there may be aspects of this dynamic that I am unfamiliar with, or additional orders I am unaware of. In the past I have served aboard the Mariner as an Acting Tactical Officer, on active rotation as part of Deep Space 13’s crew.

It is my opinion that Commander Tolar started, and maintained, this mission with a negative outlook, and perhaps may have taken her orders to a literal end, bolstered without the support of her fellow permanent crew members and an undue expectation placed upon her by more senior officers present on this mission.

As a junior officer myself, I can only speak to the expectation placed upon myself by Starfleet and my own chain of command. I cannot see this carrying relaxed expectations at a more senior level, but I do not have this requisite experience to form a full opinion, only my limited viewpoint. Ultimately, my understanding is that the orders explain the intended end result of a mission, not the exact steps to carry that mission out.

Despite the Commander’s outlook on this mission, I plotted courses based on the information and knowledge I had at my disposal based upon the initial briefing; the grain had a 12 hour time until expiry, and the stated safe top speed of the Mariner: Warp 9.9.

Accounting for the size of the nebula, and course corrections along the way it would take 14 hours to circumnavigate the 5ly distance.
By the same measure, a direct 2.5ly route through the thinnest part of the nebula (0.09ly) from our heading would take 9 hours, 15 minutes. Accounting for a maximum warp speed of Warp 6 through the nebula itself.

In short, with the knowledge available to myself at the time there would be no alternative to reach the colony without our cargo expiring. Later in the mission, following the transit through the nebula, it was learned that the Mariner was equipped with a Quantum Slipstream drive, which would have allowed a full circumnavigation of the nebula in under 3 hours, however this crucial information was not mentioned nor made available during the initial briefing despite senior permanent Mariner staff, including the Chief Engineer being present in the briefing.

As I can only speak for my position as Flight Controller of this mission, I can only speculate that there were additional orders and objectives not mentioned in the initial briefing, meaning the crew and our allied partners were unaware of the full extent of our mission (such as our VIP transfer).

In conclusion, I believe a fundamental breakdown of communication facilitated a lot of issues with this mission, and likely led to confusion in our interactions with allied partners, in particular where the discussion of mission parameters was concerned.

Commander Tolar’s attitude towards the mission orders may well have stemmed from an overliteral analysis of the orders, leading to what was deemed by many an unnecessary and unsafe route directly through the nebula, caused by a withholding of information as to the capabilities of the Mariner meaning a safer alternative could not be considered, much less offered. The withholding of this key information may lay with the Chief Engineer, perhaps due to fears of oversharing information with our allied partners, despite Quantum Slipstream being a well known technology at this time.

Ultimately, the overall issues I observed could simply be attributed to a breakdown in the chain of command, where a clear Commanding Officer has not been available on this vessel for numerous missions now, and reallocating Commander Tolar to a permanent command may give her the confidence to be more flexible in how she carries out the mission objectives.

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4
Stardate:
99618.5
Filed By:
CAPT Mirazuni, A
Clearance:

ADDENDUM Above reports seem to be very critical of the mission parameters and intelligence provided by Starfleet Logistics. This officer wishes to deal with some of the critiques and have her opinion noted for the record.

The mission, to deliver a grain shipment, was time sensitive. Thus, traversal through the nebula seemed to be the quickest and most direct route to the delivery point. I must stress that the presence of enemy vessels was well known to all before the mission started. For this reason, we had three other, heavily armed, ships as part of the escort duty.

The risks associated with this mission were clearly advertised at the start of this mission and all present knew the dangers going in. It is this officer’s opinion that this mission was no more difficult than other missions that are routinely undertaken by Starfleet vessels.

For the most part, the mission went successfully. Patrols in the nebula were successfully evaded by the convoy, until the very end when we were discovered by some enemy vessels.

There were a number of errors from the commanding officers that must be recorded. After we evaded the first patrol, a discussion on how best to evade the other patrols ensued. The intelligent parts of the discussion were overshadowed by inane complaints about the mission parameters from other Commanding Officers. Whilst these complaints had some merit, this was neither the time nor the place to voice these and it is this officer’s belief that this led to poor preparation which directly led to the convoy being spotted by enemy vessels later on.

Secondly, being seasoned commanding officers, at no point did I hear contingency plans on steps to take if the convoy was found. This was a crucial oversight from the other officers and this officer is again of the opinion that if officers spent more time planning and less time complaining, the outcome would have been less in the air. As it is, the mission was successful.

A point that was hidden from all present was that we were carrying a VIP. Whilst I understand the need for a restriction of information at certain times, revealing that there was a VIP after the mission, in front of allies who were already complaining, was a poor decision. I would surmise that the secrecy of this VIP was another reason we had to travel through the nebula rather than take another route, as the nebula was effective at masking sensor signatures.

To summarise, the conduct of some officers during this mission left much to be desired. When a mission is as sensitive as this one, delving into dangerous areas, those who are involved must be professional and efficient to ensure success. Most officers during this mission were not so, and this risked the mission more than the so-called “faulty planning by Starfleet Logistics,”.

ADDENDUM As the above reports seem to focus on the negatives (which is not surprising given their complaints during the mission), I wish to commend the men and women who performed above and beyond, namely Lieutenant Commander Zital, who took my advice when I suggested that we use probes to distract enemies (whilst others were complaining), and Senior Chief Petty Officer Ibrait, whose experience and dedication to his work kept the U.S.S. Mariner from falling apart.

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